1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to contents display devices and contents display methods for displaying content; and more specifically relates to contents display devices and contents display methods using touch panels.
2. Description of the Background Art
Digital book display devices for browsing digital books and the like include, for example, casings formed in approximately thin-box shapes, display sections such as LCDs (liquid crystal displays) and the like, digital book display devices for browsing digital books and the like. The digital book display devices often include operation sections adjacent to the display sections.
Digital book information is either stored in storage sections (RAM, HDD, etc.) built into the casings to be read-out, or stored in generic storage media (memory cards, etc.) to be read-out when the storage media are inserted in insertion parts provided on the casings and are electrically connected to the devices.
With such digital book display devices, for example, information in a single page or a two-page spread of a digital book is displayed on a display section as an image, and turning forward or backward a page of the digital book is conducted page by page when a user operates an operation section in the vicinity of or on a display screen.
Furthermore, when there are pages configured with bookmarks, some conventional digital book display devices for displaying contents of digital books and some software incorporated in the digital book display devices can display, as a list, strings of characters within a predetermined character number range from the heads of those pages including the bookmarks. The user operates a button in the operation section in the vicinity or on the display screen, and selects a desirable bookmark from the list. As a result, a page configured with the bookmark selected by the user is displayed, and the user can start reading contents of the digital book from the page (cf., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-18095).
FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram showing a conventional electronic display device 10. In FIG. 9, the electronic display device 10 includes a casing 11, an approximately-rectangular display section 12 which is used longwise and is provided on a surface 11A of the casing 11, an operation section 14 provided on a holding part 13 of the casing 11, a storage section 15 storing information that is displayed on the display section 12, and a control section 16 for displaying information on the display section 12. As a result of a user operating the operation section 14, the control section 16 switches the display of the display section 12.
The operation section 14 includes a first touch-slide surface 21 formed in a direction parallel to the top-bottom direction (longitudinal direction) of the display section 12. Furthermore, the operation section 14 includes, adjacent to the first touch-slide surface 21, second to fourth touch-slide surfaces 22 to 24 which are sequentially spaced having a constant interval in the top to bottom direction and which are formed in a direction orthogonal to the top-bottom direction (longitudinal direction).
When a digital book is to be displayed on the electronic display device 10, first, power of the electronic display device 10 is turned ON, and a menu is displayed on the display section 12. Then, the user selects “books” from the menu displayed on the display section 12 by operating the first touch-slide surface 21 of the operation section 14, and further confirms the selection “books” by operating the third touch-slide surface 23.
When the user confirms “book” information by operating the third touch-slide surface 23 of the operation section 14 after having inserted a memory card in the electronic display device 10, multiple “titles” are displayed on the display section 12. Then, the user operates the first touch-slide surface 21 of the operation section 14 to select a desired “title” and confirms the selection by operating the third touch-slide surface 23.
Furthermore, in addition to the titles displayed on the display section 12, “read,” “table of contents,” “bibliography,” and “bookmark” are displayed on the display section 12.
For example, when the user operates the first touch-slide surface 21 of the operation section 14 to select “read,” the content of a written work selected by the user is displayed on the display section 12.
Furthermore, when turning a page, the user touches the second touch-slide surface 22 and slides his/her finger from the right side to the left side in a direction orthogonal to the top-bottom direction of the display section 12. As a result, the page can be turned in the right to left direction in accordance with the touch-slide direction. In addition, when the user touches the second touch-slide surface 22 and slides his/her finger from the left side to the right side, the page can be turned in the left to right direction. In this way, the user is able to have an intuitive operability as if actually turning pages of a paper book.
Furthermore, when the user selects “bookmark” displayed on the display section 12 by operating the first touch-slide surface 21 of the operation section 14, “bookmarking” and “list” are displayed on the display section 12 as the content of “bookmark.” Furthermore, among the displayed “bookmarking” and “list,” the user selects “bookmarking” by operating the first touch-slide surface 21 of the operation section 14, and confirms the selection “bookmarking” by operating the third touch-slide surface 23. As a result, bookmarked contents are displayed on the display section 12.
Generally with paper books, there are cases where the user inserts a hand (finger) or bookmark at a portion that is currently being read in order to temporarily examine pages before or after the portion that is currently been read. Furthermore, the user often returns to the original place where the hand (finger) or bookmark has been inserted, after examining earlier or later pages.
Therefore, even on digital book display devices for browsing digital books, it would be desirable if the user could conduct operations of inserting a hand (finger) or bookmark at a portion that is currently being read and return to the original place where the hand (finger) or bookmark has been inserted after examining earlier or later pages, to provide a sensation as if conducting the operations on paper books.
In conventional digital book display devices, although the user can switch screens displayed on the display section by holding down buttons on the operation section or the like, the user can hardly have a sensation as if actually conducting the operating by himself/herself and cannot conduct the operation intuitively.
Furthermore, although the user can have an intuitive operability for turning pages with the electronic display device 10 in FIG. 9 as if turning pages of paper books; for bookmarking, the user selects “bookmarking” by operating the first touch-slide surface 21 and confirms the selection “bookmarking” by operating the third touch-slide surface 23, and thereby the user cannot have an intuitive operability as if handling paper books such as inserting a hand (finger) or bookmark, for example.